Bandits

A man wearing lipstick, a wig and a silk jacket stole an undisclosed amount of money Saturday night from the Fashion Bug in Ellicott City's Chatham Mall, Howard County police said.The man opened his brown leather purse, pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money from the clerk. A companion opened his overcoat, revealing a shotgun, police said.Police suspect that the same cross-dresser robbed Sally's Beauty Supply in the 8600 block of Liberty Road about two hours earlier.The cross-dressing bandit fits the description of a man wanted in the October robbery of Tower Federal Credit Union on Snowden River Parkway.

HockeyCoyotes: Assigned former Bandits F J. F. Jomphe to IHL Las Vegas.Sharks: Re-signed restricted free-agent C Mike Ricci.Pub Date: 10/05/98

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A trip to Buffalo finally proved to be a pleasant experience for the Baltimore Thunder. Keyed by an impressive first-half performance, the Thunder captured a 12-10 victory over the Buffalo Bandits last night.The win was the first by the Thunder in seven attempts on the Bandits' home turf. With the victory, Baltimore (6-2) moves into a tie for second place in the National Lacrosse League with Rochester."We've been a very strong road team this year and we've gotten off to very fast starts," said Thunder coach John Tucker.

The Baltimore Thunder and Buffalo Bandits both entered last night's game in unfamiliar territory. While the Thunder, owner of six straight losing seasons, had won four of five games, the three-time champion Bandits found themselves near the bottom of the National Lacrosse League standings.This one held true to form.Behind seven goals from Gary Gait that broke the club seasonal scoring record, the Thunder built a nine-goal lead before holding on for a 20-15 win over Buffalo before 7,268 at the Baltimore Arena.

Five St. Mary's College students on an educational tour in Guatemala were raped after their group's bus was ambushed by gunmen in a hilly region known for banditry, according to college and State Department spokesmen.Three staff members and 13 students from the Southern Maryland liberal arts college were returning to Guatemala City from an excursion about 3: 30 p.m. Friday when one or two pickup trucks accosted their private bus, according to Guatemalan national police, the Associated Press reported.

BaseballAngels: Agreed to terms with C Eric Helfand on a minor-league contract.Blue Jays: Named Gary Matthews batting coach, Eddie Rodriguez third base coach and Sal Butera bullpen coach.Cardinals: Named Jose Oquendo manager of short-season Single-A New Jersey.Diamondbacks: Promoted Brian Butterfield to third base coach and infield instructor.Dodgers: Signed OF Trenidad Hubbard.Indians: Named former Orioles OF Al Bumbry first base coach. The club retained all coaches other than Dave Nelson.

BasketballHawks: Activated G Eldridge Recasner from injured list. Waived G Randy Livingston.Kings: Waived F Derek Grimm. Activated G Bobby Hurley.Magic: Waived F-C Tim Kempton. Activated C Dan Schayes.Pacers: Announced election of coach Larry Bird to board of directors of Pacers Basketball Corp. Foundation.Pistons: Released G Rumeal Robinson.Suns: Placed C Horacio Llamas on injured list.CollegeJim Thorpe Association: Named Michigan CB Charles Woodson, North Carolina CB Dre' Bly and Florida CB Fred Weary finalists for Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation's top defensive back.

The lone remaining obstacle in the approval of the sale of the Bandits franchise to Cincinnati interests by the American Hockey League has been overcome and, once again, Baltimore is without pro hockey.The new Cincinnati franchise and its majority owner, Jerry Robinson, operator of the Cincinnati Gardens, gained approval from the AHL by signing an affiliation agreement with Anaheim. The team will adopt the parent club's nickname of Mighty Ducks.The sale price of $2 million, plus what the team will pay Anaheim for the players it provides, are only part of the problem the new franchise will have making a go of it in an old building.

Well, at least the Bandits went out with a wail, not a whimper, last night when the franchise passed into American Hockey League history in front of 1,031 mourners.Faced with the mammoth task of trying to recover from a 2-0 deficit in their best-of-five playoff series with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Bandits hung tough throughout before submitting, 4-2, at the Baltimore Arena."Again tonight, like all season, we tried our best," said coach Moe Mantha. "That's all that can be asked of the players and they came through.

After two seasons and 174 games -- representing 69 wins, 86 losses and 19 ties -- it could all end tonight for the Bandits, a franchise that seemed ill-fated from the start of its American Hockey League existence.Beaten in the first two games of their best-of-five, first-round series in Philadelphia, the Bandits are a prohibitive underdog to be swept by the Phantoms at Baltimore Arena (7: 35 p.m.) and join the Clippers and Skipjacks as AHL franchises that failed here.Tentative approval of the sale of the franchise to Cincinnati interests has been given by the league's board of governors.